Is this normal? Carbon filter and pre-filter question

Hey all,

I have a vivosun 6" inline exhaust fan and carbon filter with cloth pre-filter sleeve.

Tent has only been up and running for 3-4 weeks and already this? Is this normal? Maybe due to too much moisture?

I have a large oscillating fan in the 4x4x8 tent and a humidifier + radiator. Temp runs 80f and humidity 75-80rh

Thanks for your input

I'm almost positive that is mineral buildup from the water in your humidifier. If you are using a cool mist humidifier then you need to use distilled or RO filtered water. Otherwise, the calcium and other minerals in the water go airborne in the mist and clog the filters up.

Mine has been used for just under 8 months maybe and it’s getting quite black so I would say yes. Might be time to wash my pre filter lol

My filter I took a pic is of my filter for the intake for my flower tent

TreeFarmerCharlie said:

I'm almost positive that is mineral buildup from the water in your humidifier. If you are using a cool mist humidifier then you need to use distilled or RO filtered water. Otherwise, the calcium and other minerals in the water go airborne in the mist and clog the filters up.

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Bingo - this is it. Well shit....

I have really hard water so I've been using distilled water for feedings, but I have been using faucet water for humidifier. I guess its time for me to look at an RO system.

I realize this is a really general question and even kind of off-topic, but does anyone have any recommendations on an RO system they like?

MidwestTentGrowerDude said:

Bingo - this is it. Well shit....

I have really hard water so I've been using distilled water for feedings, but I have been using faucet water for humidifier. I guess its time for me to look at an RO system.

I realize this is a really general question and even kind of off-topic, but does anyone have any recommendations on an RO system they like?

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Honestly, they are all pretty much the same, there are just different amounts of prefilters. I would just look into a 3 stage system. Just understand they are slow at filling buckets and a large majority of waste water goes down the drain unless you capture it to use it for something else.

MidwestTentGrowerDude said:

Bingo - this is it. Well shit....

I have really hard water so I've been using distilled water for feedings, but I have been using faucet water for humidifier. I guess its time for me to look at an RO system.

I realize this is a really general question and even kind of off-topic, but does anyone have any recommendations on an RO system they like?

Click to expand...

I use tap water and I doubt very much your type of water has nothing to do with the carbon filter. If your running rH over 75% you are probably gonna run into some issues with moisture levels. I don’t run higher then 65-70% for veg and around 45% for flower. And I oxigenate my tap water a few days with air stones before watering using air stones which gets rid of any chlorine in the water

Clumpyoyster said:

I use tap water and I doubt very much your type of water has nothing to do with the carbon filter.

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Hard water being used in cool mist humidifiers that are inside tents causes the filters to clog. This is a known issue that a lot of people run into.

I run tap water through my humidifier I have grown some nice bud. IDK. I’m no pro. I’m just saying.

Change the filter once a year your good to go

Clumpyoyster said:

I run tap water through my humidifier I have grown some nice bud. IDK. I’m no pro. I’m just saying.

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That just means your tap water isn’t as hard as @MidwestTentGrowerDudes water. How does your ability to grow nice bud have anything to do with how minerals are dispersed into the air from coil mist humidifiers? It’s just science, and you don’t even have to know how to grow a plant for it to happen.